History Note
Each month of 2007,
Access Press will feature an important person or persons in disability
history: local, regional or national
Wolf Wolfensberger
Hero
of deinstitutionalization
by the Access Press Staff
Wolf Wolfensberger, a German
born United States immigrant, received a PhD. in psychology at (what
is now) Vanderbilt University, with a concentration in “mental
retardation.” Since
1973, he has been a professor at the School for Education at Syracuse University.
Wolfensberger continues to be an advocate of people with developmental disabilities,
and his numerous accomplishments include the creation of programs designed
to deinstitutionalize this population, as well as being credited
with the term “Citizen
Advocacy.” His teachings focused around deinstitution-alization are numerous
and comprise such topics as Social Role Valorization, which tries to explain—and,
more importantly, counteract—how certain individuals become “socially
devalued” (because of conditions such as old age or disability); and
Normalization, a theory built around the tenet that individuals will behave “normally” when
put into “normal” settings. In addition, Wolfensberger is deeply
invested in child assessment, which necessitates working closely with families
as they map out their disabled child’s future, especially as it pertains
to education. He remains a staunch supporter of people with disabilities having
the potential and the right to live lives within, not outside of, society as
a whole. ![]()
Source: Museum of disABILITY
History; www.museumofdisability.org
